The devil's brow twitched. "Teach me…manners?"
Gasper showed no reaction, just stared him down.
"Heh… you've got balls…"
Gasper's eyes snapped wide open.
The stray—
was gone!
TAP!
A footstep sounded right behind him.
"BUT CAN YOU BACK UP THOSE WORDS?!"
Gasper turned—
And saw…
A lightning spear approaching his chest!
[LAGTRAIN] moved.
In an instant, it floated right in front of Gasper—
and caught the tip of the spear between its palms.
CLAP!
"Huh?" the stray muttered, irritation flashing across his face. 'Something… is stopping me.'
'…no, not just stopping… it's… pushing back?'
The stray pushed the spear forward slightly.
And [LAGTRAIN] pushed back with struggle.
"..."
"I see…"
The stray let go of his spear and jumped back, creating distance.
Gasper blinked. 'Why did he jump back?'
Crackle!
His eyes turned to the spear still held by his Stand.
It was releasing an insane amount of energy.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY; IT'S UNSTABLE!" Sona's voice rang out from somewhere behind him.
But it was too late.
BOO—"[LAGTRAIN]!"—OOM!
Snap!
Pixels covered Gasper's vision as [LAGTRAIN] once again displaced him.
…
Issei threw his arms up against the blast. The wind nearly knocking him clean off his feet.
"Shit… is he—dead?!"
Before he could say anything else, a hand grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.
He looked to his side.
And saw the bob-cut girl holding his sleeve tightly.
"I'm sorry… but I need to use this."
Huh? What could she possibly mea—
Tear!
"…"
"WHAT THE HELL, LADY?! THESE UNIFORMS ARE EXPENSIVE!"
She ignored him completely, her gaze fixed on the clearing smoke as she wrapped the torn cloth around her bleeding shoulder.
She already knew the blonde kid wasn't dead. She could sense his presence just fine.
But…
'How… that attack was high-class, easily able to level a small building, so how did he get away in time…?'
The smoke settled.
And there he was. Hands bearing mild burns.
'And almost completely unscathed from that distance.'
The stray's eyes narrowed as he looked Gasper over.
'Hm. Nothing, huh? And again—appearing somewhere he wasn't before…' His eyes sharpened. 'A Sacred Gear? But then what was that barrier? If not a Sacred Gear… a new type of magic maybe?'
His eyes began to glow a cold, piercing blue.
And there it was.
Something floating right beside the kid.
Something he could only just barely make out.
Gasper stepped forward, cocking his arm back!
The stray flicked his hand—a yellow circle crackled open in the air, electricity coiling around it.
A steel ball spun in Gasper's palm.
"ORA!"
He hurled it with a roar.
The stray shot a bolt of lightning straight at it—
As the steel ball and the lightning made their way to each other, Gasper took a step forward. "[LAGTRAIN]!"
Gasper went stiff as a board.
Snap!
…
CLAP!
The stray spun sideways, eyes wide.
Gasper was right next to him.
Barely 5 meters away!
Hands already pressed together.
In an instant, a jet of high-pressure water erupted from his palms!
The stray dropped to the floor. Ducking under the stream, he pointed his right hand right at Gasper, a blue circle igniting to life—
BOOM!
The stray was sent flying.
"GAH!"
Lightning.
LIGHTNING HAS JUST STRUCK HIM FROM THE SIDE!
Still tumbling through the air, he twisted to see where it came from.
And there it was.
That same steel ball.
Spinning on the floor, lightning coiling around it, crackling slowly…
His lightning.
'The steel ball... it redirected it but how?!'
While in midair he straightened himself out, landing on his feet as he skidded on the ground.
Gasper let down his hands as he stopped his stream and opened his right hand, the steel ball on the floor flinging back into his open palm.
A bead of sweat fell from Gasper's brow. 'Crap… starting to feel full…'
"Tch!"
'Gotta get serious.'
His red eyes snapped wide, pupils twisting into golden hexagons.
"THE WORLD…"
BOOOOM!!!
…
TICK! TOK!
"…IS NOW STOPPED!"
Gasper lunged at the stray.
1 second has passed.
Feet slammed into the ground just a few meters from him.
2 seconds have passed.
He crossed his arms with force, sending a wave of spinning bubbles surging outward.
3 seconds have passed.
"BUBBLE CUTTER!"
He leapt into the air.
4 seconds have passed.
"Time begins to flow once more."
The stray barely had time to react before a storm of sharp bubbles rained down, slicing across his body, leaving shallow cuts covering most of him.
'Those eyes... it can't be.',The stray was about to start looking for Gasper...
But a gust of wind was blowing from above him.
He looked up and saw a human-sized spinning top descending straight at him!
"TORNADO OVERDRIVE!"
The stray opened his right hand, a new lightning spear forming as he thrust it upward.
The spear and Gasper's leg clashed—but Gasper's leg cut straight through the swiftly formed spear.
But…
That was all the stray needed to move out of the way.
BOOM!
Gasper's leg cratered the ground the stray was just standing on.
Covering him in a dust cloud
"That… Sacred Gear…"
"Boy…" The stray's voice dropped low. "What is your name?"
"..."
The dust cleared, revealing Gasper looking over his shoulder as the wind blew at his sailor suit, revealing a red star on his left shoulder.
"My name…?"
"...It's Gasper."
"Gasper 'Vladi' Joestar."
Sona's eyes widened. 'Did… he just say Gasper Vladi?'
The stray grinned. "So I was right. you're the Son of Lord Vladi. They say you wield the Evil Eye that stops The World is that true?"
Gasper stayed quiet.
the stray took a slow breath, taking his silence as confirmation. "To think a boy presumed dead a year ago would stand before me like this…"
"My name is Bludwan." His voice was low, deliberate. "I speak it now, to a warrior worthy of my time."
He exhaled sharply. The air around him shifted.
Demonic energy had rolled off him in waves.
"NOW SHOW ME, SON OF VLADI! SHOW ME THE STRENGTH THAT COMES WITH YOUR BLOOD!!"
Gasper drew in a slow breath.
The Golden light of hamon bloomed across both his fists.
No more words were needed.
They lunged at each other.
Arriving in front of each other, Gasper threw a punch with his right. Bludwan ducked under and drove an uppercut with his left straight into Gasper's gut.
Gasper burst into a storm of pixels.
Bludwan immediately raised his right hand.
GRIP!
Stopping Gasper's descending axe kick mid-air.
He swung and tossed Gasper sideways and gave chase, cocking his right arm back—
BAM!
"GAH!"
Gut-checking Gasper before he could even touch the ground, making him spit out saliva.
Bludwan cocked his left and swung once more.
And as it connected, Gasper broke into another swarm of pixels.
Both faces on Bludwan's sides opened their eyes—
And on his left…
Gasper's right fist was already descending on his abdomen.
BAM!
"HM!" a sharp pain rang out from Bludwan side.
Gasper drew his right fist back—
And whipped his left upward, connecting cleanly with Bludwan's chin.
Bludwan's head snapped toward the sky.
Without looking back down, he brought his left knee up hard into Gasper's core.
Gasper spat out a mix of blood and saliva—but before he could fall, his hands shot out and seized Bludwan's shoulders. His feet found Bludwan's thighs.
Gasper drew his head back.
BAAAANG!
And drove it straight into Bludwan's face.
Gasper gritted his teeth as he pulled back, glaring down—
Blood fell from Bludwan's nose
But he did not react.
He simply....
just open his mouth; A yellow magic circle began to form right inside.
"[LAG—]" Gasper cut himself off.
That feeling.
That fullness.
There was no mistaking it.
'I'm— FUCK, I'm in Overload!'
Through trial and error, Gasper had finally uncovered the singular, most fundamental flaw of [LAGTRAIN].
To an observer, the Stand's ability appears to be a seamless transition. The reality, however, is far from it.
Even Gasper, the user, does not fully comprehend the mechanics behind what happens when he drowns in pixels and is displaced between space-time.
But he does know this: anything affected by LAGTRAIN's ability is effectively rendered a battery. A battery for what is not known.
But with each use of the technique, a growing sensation of 'fullness' lingers upon his return.
And once that feeling reaches its maximum output…
That is what we call Overload.
Once the vessel reaches Overload, it must undergo a mandatory discharge of energy before the technique can be initialized again, and so fora window of six to eightseconds, the container is forced into a state of 'downtime.'
And if the user of the technique happens to be the container…
The user is stripped of the stand's ability to jump—leaving them utterly vulnerable to what is to come next!
Slosh!
Bludwan almost lost his footing on the wet floor but caught himself just as fast.
He steadied his head as Gasper jumped back—
But it was too late.
he was ready to fire.
.
.
.
Squelch!
"Huh!" Gasper's eyes widened.
Bludwan's beam tore upward, and parted the clouds above clean in two.
'Why… am I looking at the sky?'
Drip.
Drip.
Bludwan looked down.
And saw blood.
He blinked.
Another drop joined the small pool already forming beneath his feet.
He raised his hand slowly and touched his neck.
His fingers came back red.
.
.
.
Without hesitation, he reached under his jaw—
—and yanked out two long spikes of hardened water.
His blood came like a geyser.
From behind him the sound of footsteps were heard—
But how? Vladi was right in front of him.
Wasn't he?
"I believe now we are even, don't you agree?"
He turned.
And saw Sona standing there, light as rain.
Bludwan blinked. 'Oh yeah… forgot she was even here.'
A grin spread across his face, blood running freely down his neck.
"It was a good hit—I'll give you that." He tilted his head slightly. "But at most… it was just a scratch."
Sona fixed her glasses, the glare hiding her eyes. "Just a scratch?"
A smile crossed Sona's face.
"Of course. Did you really thin—"
BAM!
"GAH?!"
A sharp pain shot out through his side. Bludwan turned to look, and there was Gasper, his fist digging into the side of his ribs.
Bludwan, seeing Gasper act so rashly, jumped back, but Gasper did not falter and reached into his pocket
And pulled out…a red scarf?
As if a perfect conduit, the scarf glowed a beautiful yellow color.
Gasper steadied his breathing, and as if the scarf were a lasso, he threw it.
Catching Bludwan by the foot, pulling him back in!
Gasper cocked his fist back, his hamon flaring brighter than before.
Gasper then threw the punch.
But it fell short…
POP!
"ZOOOOOM! PUNCH!"
As if defying anatomy as a whole, Gasper's fist extended far past the limit. Hitting Bludwan right on his nose, making blood fly everywhere!
As Bludwan went flying, a water serpent came from behind, its mouth wide open.
And as it bit down it ate Bludwan in one bite!
.
.
.
Issei, hidden behind a bush, looked out. "is it over?" he whispered to no one.
Sona took a deep breath, and looked towards Gasper and just stared.
Gasper, feeling her gaze, looked at her, but she still said nothing so he checked his sides and even behind him making sure she was not looking at someone else.
After gathering her thoughts Sona walked up to Gasper. "Sorry I took so long to step in."
Gasper blinked and turned his gaze back to serpent for a second, then looked at Sona. "It's fine; I'm just happy you did step in, instead of running away… you kind of saved my ass…"
Gasper looked away, staring directly at a head full of brown hair sticking out of a bush. "…so thanks."
Sona followed his gaze. "So is he with you?"
Gasper just blinked at Issei. "Honestly, I don—"
Blub!
Blub!
Gasper and Sona looked back at the water serpent…
It was…
boiling.
Gasper took his scarf and wrapped it around his neck, throwing the loose part over his shoulder. And fixed his sailor hat.
Sona sighed and pushed up her glasses.
Like a water balloon, the serpent's shape exploded outward.
And there he floated, with three pairs of bat-like wings spread wide as his hair blew in the wind.
He placed both of his hands on his hips, his cold blue eyes boring down on them.
His lips trembled.
"Hehe…"
"HEHE…"
"HAHHAHHAHAHHAAHHAHAH!!"
He stopped for a second.
"Ah~", and let out a sigh of relief.
He looked up, staring directly at a bird flying overhead.
"You really are full of surprises, aren't you, Gasper Vladi…. No…
Joestar was it?"
Sona and Gasper stared up at him, the wind from the explosion of the serpent tugging on their hair and clothes.
"Yep, half-time vampire-devil, full-time badass, Glad you're amused. After all, I'd hate to disappoint."
Bludwan smiled. "Well so far no complaints on performance, so...how do the kids these days say it?"
"Right...five stars."
The three stared at each other for a moment.
The breeze blowing at Gasper's scarf.
Issei went deeper into his bush. 'I…should probably leave… I mean, this looks like a final boss fight or something; all they're missing is the posing.'
Gasper slid into a fighting stance, stepping back until his left shoulder touched Sona's. He raised his right arm up beside his face, elbow angled out, fingers spread wide.
"Ready for round two?" Gasper said quietly.
Sona sighed and shifted with him, turning so their backs pressed together. She lifted her left hand to her chest, pointing at Bludwan with her index finger.
Even in such a situation, she could not help but give a small smile. "I think I should be asking you that."
Issei's eyebrow twitched. 'Oh...…come on.'
←—TO BE CONTINUED—